Protective separator for cone-bobbins



March 10, 1959 H. SCHMIDT 9 PROTECTIVE SEPARATOR FOR CONE-ROBBINS FiledMarch 25, 1956 FIG 5 INVENTOR. I

HANS SCHMIDT BY ATTYs United States Patent 2,876,898 PROTECTIVESEPARATOR FOR CONE-ROBBINS Hans Schmidt, Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany,assignor to J. P. Bemberg Aktiengesellschaft, Wuppertal-Oberbarmen,Germany Application March 23, 1956, Serial No. 573,552

Claims priority, application Germany March 24, 1955 1 Claim. (Cl.206-65) This invention relates to a protective separator for insertionbetween cone-bobbins stacked end to end for shipping purposes.

Threads and yarns intended for further processing, such as weaving, arecommonly wound on cone-bobbins which are spools of hollow frusto-conicalform. The cone-bobbins are packed for shipment in containers providedwith bottom, cover or separator plates having openings through which theends of the cone-bobbins are inserted. In another method of packing, thecone-bobbins are placed on mandrels. Both of these packing methods areintended to prevent dislocation of the bobbins during theirtransportation with consequent damage to the I wound thread or yarn dueto pressure, impact or friction between dislocated spools.

When a large number of cone-bobbins are to be shipped, the bobbins arepacked in a container in two or more layers. Plates of cardboard, lightmetal, or similar material having a number of punched holes are insertedbetween the layers to hold the cones. It is apparent that these holesmust be slightly larger than the larger ends of the bobbins, and sincethe bobbins are of frustoconical form, it is unavoidable that theseparating plates will not be supported by the smaller ends of theadjoining cone-bobbins, and therefore the plates will tend to slide ontothe wound thread or yarn with consequent damage. In order to overcomethis, separator plates have been employed which instead of having holesare provided with a recess on one side of the plate and a mandrel on theother side. Such separator plates are efiective in preventingdislocation of both top and bottom cone-bobbins but are disadvantageousin that the plates must have a considerable thickness so that therecesses may be of suflicient depth. Consequently, such plates areundesirable in that the relatively thick plates plus the added weight ofthe mandrels contribute considerable weight to the transportationcontainers.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a protective separatorfor stacked cone-bobbins which will be effective in preventingdislocation of the bobbins and the consequent damage to the woundthread.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective separator forsecuring insertion between stacked cone-bobbins which may be easilyfabricated from a thin light-weight material.

The invention is illustrated but not limited in the accompanying drawingin which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a separator plate according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention including aplurality of elements similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1.

2,876,898 Patented Mar. 10, .1953

In accordance with the invention, the aforementioned objects areaccomplished by a protective separator in the form of a plate which isprovided with an aperture and a flange extending outwardly from theplate along the periphery of the aperture to form a rim and furtherextending across the aperture to form a cap. The peripheries of theaperture and the rim define a symmetrical figure. The inner periphery ofthe rim is circumscribable on a circle slightly larger than the outerperiphery of the smaller end of one of the cone-bobbins. The outerperiphery of the rim is inscribable in a circle slightly smaller thanthe inner periphery of the larger end of one of the cone-bobbins.

The accompanying drawing illustrates various cinbodiments of theinvention. In Figs. 1 and 2 the sepa' rator plate 1 is a square piece ofcardboard. A flange extends outwardly from the plate 1 along theperiphery of an aperture 2 to form a rim 3 and then extending across'the aperture to form a cap 4. The cap 4 lies in a plane substantiallyparallel with the plane of the plate 1. The periphery of the aperture 2and the peripheries of the rim 3 are convoluted so as to have theappearance of a symmetrical gear wheel with rounded teeth and roundedgaps between the teeth. The inside periphery of the rim 3 iscircumscribable on a circle 5 which is slightly larger than the outerperiphery of the smaller end of a cone-bobbin '6, so that that end ofthe cone-bobbin 6 may fit securely within the rim 3 against theinnermost convoluted portions. The outside periphery of the rim 3 isinscribable in a circle 7 slightly smaller than the inner periphery ofthe larger end of a cone-bobbin 8 similar to cone-bobbin 6, so' that thelarge end of cone-bobbin 8 may be fitted securely over the rim 3. Thecap 4 preferably has an aperture 9 to permit escape of air betweenplates, particularly when the periphery of the plate fits closely withinthe packing container.

Stated another way, the protective separator illustrated in Figs. 1 and2 comprises a separator plate 1 of lightweight material having a wall 3in the form of a hollow, sinuously convoluted, truncated cone protrudingfrom one side of the plate 1, with the sinuous convolutions being ofsubstantially equal magnitude and providing rounded valleys and ridgesrunning longitudinally of the tapered side wall of the truncated cone.The plate 1 is open at the base of the truncated cone to provide anaperture 2, and the iner wall of the truncated cone forms a convolutedrecess in the plate 1 for receiving the smaller end of a cone-bobbin 6.The rounded crests of the ridges of the convolutions on the outer sideof the truncated cone lie in a common tangential plane in the form of atruncated cone, and the rounded crests of said ridges form spacedsurfaces adapted to receive the larger end of the hollow cone-bobbin 6.

In Fig. 3 a similar embodiment of the invention is shown with theexception that the symmetrical figure defined is a square 10 havingrounded corners. In Fig. 4 a similar embodiment of the invention isshown with the exception that the symmetrical figure is an equilateraltriangle 11 with rounded corners.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 in which the symmetrical figure has aconvoluted periphery, the symmetrical figure is easily altered to fitcone-bobbins of any proportions simply by extending or contracting theconvolutions radially of the symmetrical figure or, in other words, byincreasing or decreasing the size of the teeth. However, in theembodiments illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 in which the symmetricalfigures 10 and 11 are respectively a square and a triangle, there areproportional limitations on the bobbins which may be used. Theproportionate circumference of the small end and the large end of thecone-bobbins employed is limited to the proportions determined by thecircumscribed and inpensated for by rounding iofi the corners of theseparticular geometrical figures.

The separator plates illustrated in Figs. 1-4 may be employed in squarecontainer packages having an inner periphery slightly larger than theperiphery of the plate 1 so that the cone-bobbins and interposed platesform a column or s a k. H w ver, in another embodiment of the inventionillustrated in Fig. 5, a separator plate 12 of rectangular periphery maybe employed having a plurality of apertures with peripheral flangessimilar to those illustrated in Figs. 1-4. In this embodiment, thebobbins may be packed in several stacks within the same container.

The material employed for the separator plates may be cardboard, lightmetal, plastic, or the like. When such materials are employed, theaperture, rim and cap I may be formed in a single punching and pressingoperation on the plate or by molding these forms when the plates arepoured from a molten material. The rim and cap may also be individuallyfabricated from the same or difierent material from that of the Plateand then fastened over apertures provided in the plate.

By means of the invention, a shipping unit is obtained which comprisesstacked cone-bobbins, rectangular separator plates as described,interposed between the ends of the cone-bobbins, and a surroundingcontainer package conforming to the rectangular periphery of theseparator plates. By means of the invention, cone-bobbins wound withfine spun synthetic threads may be transported without damage to thevaluable threads- The invention prevents dislocation of the bobbins inthe containcr package and thus avoids damage to the threads. Becaus theseparator plates may be fabricated from a thin light material, shippingweights may be kept to a minimum with a saving in shipping cost. Sincethe separator plates are of a form which permits telescoping of theplates when the bobbins are omitted, the plates may be convenientlypacked for return to the shipper after they have served their purpose asprotective separators for the wound cone-bobbins.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

A protective separator for insertion between stacked cone-bobbins whichcomprises a plate of lightweight material having a wall in the form of ahollow, sinuously convoluted, truncated cone protruding from one sidethereof with the sinuous convolutions being of sub stantially equalmagnitude and providing rounded valleys and ridges runninglongitudinally of the truncated cone, said plate being open at the baseof said truncated cone whereby the inner wall of said truncated coneforms a convoluted recess in said plate for receiving the smaller end ofa cone-bobbin, the rounded crests of the ridges of the convolutions onthe outer side of said truncated cone having a common tangential planein the form of atruncated cone whereby the rounded crests of the ridgesof said convoluted wall form spaced surfaces adapted to receive thelarger end of a hollow cone-bobbin, and an apertured cap, lying in aplane substantially parallel with the plane of said plate, and integralwith the smaller end of said truncated cone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,063,319 Lee Dec. 8, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS 49,399 France Dec. 17, 1938(First addition to No. 824,931)

